Percy Jackson and the Deadly Secret
by the big NOBODY
Summary: Another v. of Book 5: Percy has a strange year away from camp but things are even stranger at camp. Percy must go on a quest to find a deadly secret that will change the life of demigods forever. I re-did ch. 2. Minor Percabeth later as requested. Review!
1. My Cousin Ruins My Party

Here's a full summary because, well, just because:

Percy Jackson is having just another perfectly normal time away from camp; that is, if you define "normal" as having your cousin prophecy doom at your birthday party, blowing up a Driving Ed school, and accidentally giving Rachel a bloody nose. At camp, however, things are even worse. Mysterious deaths plague the campers with unease, and soon a familiar hero has to go on a quest to face death in its truest form, confront the Titan lord himself, and figure out the deadly secret of Kronos.

Flames will be sent to me, read by me, and received very well by me. They will also be ignored by me.

Disclaimer: (I have no clue why every one does this, but I'll do it anyways) I do not PJO, the characters, and probably not even the idea, which I'm trying to make as original as I can.

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Chapter 1: My Cousin Ruins a Perfectly Good Birthday

_" 'Come in for cake and ice cream' I said. 'I can tell we have a lot to talk about.' "_

My mom was, of course, was surprised at first, but quickly turned to curious.

"Mom-Nico. Nico-meet my mom, Sally Jackson."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Jackson." Nico politely said, and though his voice didn't portray it, I could somehow tell that he was a little anxious.

I guess my mom could tell too, so once he finished eating, she left saying that she was letting us have a bit of time to talk.

After she left, Nico sighed.

"I guess this was a bad time to come. Sorry."

"Don't worry, it is fine." I replied, though it was true that he put a little bit of a damper on the day.

Nico then lowered his voice and leaned in a bit. "It's about Kronos, of course. Well, at least it must be. Had- my dad is having quite a time with the Underworld lately. Every one is restless, or at least more than usual. Spirits are disappearing and running amok around the country. Even monsters are leaving prematurely, in as little as an hour before they reform. It is almost like you are now face an endless supply of monsters. It is scary, to say the least. Even my dad is worried." He paused for a breath. "I know you can't help, but I think I know some people who can." When I stayed silent, he leaned in closer and said "I'm thinking of raising demigods and heroes from the dead. Ancient and recent. Think about it. an army of the greatest warriors."

I ran my hands threw my hair. All of this was a lot to take in on a birthday party.

"Then why are you telling me?" I questioned.

I could've sworn he smiled. "Well, you're the one in the prophecy right? You ought to know." And with that, a chasm opened in the ground, and he dropped down to the Underworld.

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I know that chapter was sort of **really **short, but it was key to the plot. R&R! Don't kill me because this is my first fan fic!

(Yes, the first line is the last line from BotL)


	2. I Battle a FiveArmedPscychic

Okay, okay, the last chapter was very short, but don't flame me for it

Okay, okay, the last chapter was very short, but don't flame me for it! This next chapter will be better! Action!

At least I hope!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with PJO

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Chapter 2: I Battle a Five-Armed-Psychic-Mind-Reading/Controlling-Monster

The months that followed that strange meeting were despairingly uneventful. I guess after almost getting myself killed more times than you can count makes almost anything normal seems uneventful. Even high school. Part of the torture, although, was the paranoia of what Nico told me.

That is, until an incident in early November that really got me thinking…

I couldn't help it. In fact, I can hardly help anything I do, but this time, there really wasn't a thing I could do. Or maybe there was, but it is too late now.

See, my mom signed me up for Driving Ed, even though I wasn't as interested in it as I should be, but as soon as I saw it I was even less interested. It just looked so… menacing.

Not to mention strange, too. For one thing, in front of it there was a strange sign saying, quite strangely (did I mention this place was strange?):

_Park on the next block down._

_Thank You!_

_Violators will suffer a painful death._

Mom laughed it off but I was still a bit curious about why we were the only ones parked within easy walking distance. Hmmmm…

When I got inside, however, all my warning signs went off.

The walls were covered in licenses. REAL licenses. I just gaped stupidly.

"Uh, mom?"

"Yes, honey? Oooh! Dear." She exclaimed. "They already made yours, Percy, look!"

I'd never say anything mean about my mom for anything, but I have to admit that she was acting sort of stupid.

Also, her voice was totally distant, and she wasn't blinking. I fleetingly laughed at a thought that she was being mind controlled. Hah!

It was at that moment that I caught a glimpse of a license­–with my name on it. My mom wasn't lying. It was just plain creepy. I decided I wasn't about to bet my life on… well, what ever this place is.

My hand drifted absentmindedly to the pocket where my disguised sword laid in wait. I brought the pen out, and was about to uncap it when­—

**SMACK!**

Anakalomus (A/N I have no idea how to spell or even pronounce it, so please correct me!) flew out of my now swelling hand and was caught with incredible speed. It all had happened so fast I hadn't had any time to react.

See, this woman had one of those "hello my name is" name tags saying, in loopy lettering, Julie Aspa. I hardly noticed her before, but I sure did when she slapped Riptide out of my hand with incredible force that made that hand start to swell leaving me backing up with pain. Her fire-red eyes seemed to glow until they literally looked like they were on fire. Her face contorted grotesquely into a look that I'd seen plastered on many faces before. Very different faces indeed, but I could recognize that look anywhere; the face of something that wasn't human: the face of a monster.

_Hello, son of Poseidon. Look who is "Big Three material" now? An injured, defenseless boy, cornered._

It was speaking to me, that much was obvious. But her lips weren't moving; it was like she was speaking with her thoughts. _But that's crazy!_ I thought.

_Not anymore._ This time it really was in my thoughts. Worse, it was reading them. This really was creepy.

_All I came here for was a learner's degree, and I end up facing a Psychic-Mind-Reading-Monster._ As I thought that she changed even more.

Her arms on both sides literally melted into her sides. As I watched in horror, FIVE extraordinarily long arms sprouted out of her back. I gulped. _Scratch that,_ I thought. _I'm facing a Five-Armed-Psychic-Mind-Reading/Controlling-Monster._

Of course, no one else looked twice. The mortals probably just thought that we were having a polite conversation. That didn't worry me, but the fact that my mom was still smiling and looking distantly at me. I realized with a gulp that she was being mind-controlled.

Then the monster pulled a sword for each hand out of her chest and twirled them menacingly at me.

At that moment, I realized that my mom and I were going to die if I didn't act now. How horrible it would be to die in the mortal world, away from Half-Blood Hill, away from all my friends, away from Annabeth…

I sprung straight up with a familiar pressure in my gut. I did what I wanted to do—surprise her. She threw one sword wildly but missed me by a few feet, sending a payload of licenses tumbling and almost blinding her. When I was at the top of my leap, I released the pressure and felt my stomach flip as I felt a huge wave of water catapult me farther up in the air, leaving the wave to crash into the freak that had been threatening me. When she was hit Riptide flew out of her hand, and it was my turn to snatch it. In one fluid motion I grabbed it, uncapped it, and disarmed two of her swords without much trouble. She had recovered by now and hissed.

_How dare you attack the Aspa, foolish demigod!_

With that thought, she disappeared in a huge flame.

I fell, exhausted, injured, and drained onto my knees in weariness.

My mom caught me before I totally crumpled. By now she was back into her wits, saying all the stuff a mom says when you get hurt, but now it was my turn to be distant. What I faced was nothing anybody had faced before. I thought fleetingly about what Nico told me, but it just didn't make sense.

Only one thing was for sure: My demigod life was catching up to me.

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Whew!

That was definitely longer than the last chapter.

As some might guess, I totally re-did this chapter, so scratch EVERYTHING I said before.

Review!

PLEASE!


	3. I Say 'Hi' to Golem

I hope you like my re-do. **I **think it is better. At least longer.

I have to admit I'm feeling a bit discouraged because of the lack of reviews. It would make me mucho happy if I got a total of 8 reviews by the 4th chapter. Big thank you to the two that gave me my only 2 reviews.

Remember, I don't want flames but constructive criticism doesn't hurt. Don't be afraid to say you hate my story, but say why please or you will be IGNORED.

Sigh…

Onto the next chapter! More action! MAYBE a little percabeth if I feel like it (in that case, unlikely)! Might be a cliffie! R&R!

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Chapter 3: I Say Hi to Golem

As it turns out, my hand was broken. Compound fracture in 5 different places, but don't think I know what that means. The only finger that doesn't hurt to move is my index finger. Mom had to take me to the ER and all we did was listen to these stupid doctors argue about how to treat it.

Turns out that I get no cast, no sling, and no special medicine. All my hand does is hang by my side and I get ibuprofen. It really sucks. Also, it was my sword/dominant hand. Well, I guess that's pretty good because I couldn't write. Because of that, I didn't have to go to school. Paul insisted.

Oh yeah, Paul.

Mr. Blofis entered my mom's life around a year ago, (A/N: I forget myself so I'm guessing) and now he's finally proposed to my mom. He isn't that bad, but it is a little weird having one of my teachers kissing my mom. Paul got me in to his high school, Goode, even though I a chunk of it up during orientation this summer. Long story, so don't ask.

Goode actually was a pretty good school, pardon the pun. It was probably the only school where I'd met some people with some of the same problems that I have, like dyslexia.

Anyways, no school gave me time to think; think about what Nico told me, and more importantly the recent events. What in Hades' name was an 'Aspa'? I'd never seen anything like it, and I've seen everything from skeletons to Briars (A/N ?) the 'Hundred-Handed One'. This monster simply hasn't existed before. My mind was baffled completely, but I thought I knew some one who could make some sense of this situation. Anyways, she needed to know.

I pulled a shining gold drachma out of my pocket, and fingered it gingerly. I could see my faint reflection staring expectantly back at me as if saying, "Well? You going to IM her or not? Do it!" It was right, but why was I hesitating? I was unconsciously thinking about our awkward good-bye at the end of summer, how she ran off without looking back, not once.

I quickly pushed away the coming sense of dread away as I waved my hand to create a small mist, (being the son of Poseidon) tossed in my drachma and announced clearly, "Annabeth Chase."

The water shimmered into a picture of a familiar girl with curly blond hair hanging down… arguing with her dad and step-mom? Uh-oh. Maybe this was a bad time.

I saw Annabeth stamp her foot on the ground defiantly and yell, "I am NOT going to do this. This is ridiculous! Simply ridiculous!"

"YOU, young lady, ARE!" yelled who I assumed to be her step-mother in a heartless tone. No wonder Annabeth didn't like her. I felt a sudden urge to make myself known. I coughed quietly, and every voice stopped and every face turned, surprised, at me. I blushed.

"Could I… Um… Speak with Annabeth? Privately?" I said, flushing a deeper red.

Her step-mom gave me a death gaze, then left with Annabeth's dad trailing behind her, as if to apologize, leaving Annabeth and me alone.

"Sorry about that," we said in perfect unison. We both looked surprised, then blushed, then started to chuckle. That broke a lot of tension.

"Seriously though, there's a lot I have to tell you…" At that, I went in detail about my short meeting with Nico, and the monster I faced. Annabeth's smile faded quickly.

She leaned back into a table behind her and put a thoughtful hand to her mouth. "I think it's somehow connected."

"That's what I thought, too."

"The monster you faced definitely hasn't been faced before. But how could it just… just… appear! Some one must be behind this…" Her voice trailed off, and I knew whom she was thinking of. I scowled at the thought of the 'love' that she lost to 'worse than death'. We broke eye contact for a moment, and then I broke the silence while still averting my gaze.

"Well… IM me if you figure something out and I'll do the same."

"Okay… bye."

"Bye." I was about to wave away the message but she stopped me.

"Wait! Um…" she hesitated, and I found myself staring into those storm clouds she had for eyes. "Percy, I'm sorry about-"

Whatever she wanted to say I'll never find out because suddenly, her image faded and a voice chimed that I needed to deposit another drachma for another 5 minutes. I scowled profusely.

As you could guess, the only thing I wanted for Christmas (not like I celebrate it) was to survive till school got back in. Of course, I survived, but, of course, it wasn't without a price.

It was a brisk morning. The wind was biting and bits of snow were falling gently onto the ground, only to melt. The only reason I was out there was because my mom said I needed some fresh air. (Bah!) She made me put on my coat but, as it was still just 7 o'clock, I kept on my sweatpants.

I didn't get very far away from the apartment when a voice about 3 feet behind me (after facing so many monsters, you just know these types of thing) made me turn… say 'hi', then jump.

An impish monster that looked quite similar to Golem from Lord of the Rings (the movies) was crawling up Rachael's face with a bloodthirsty gleam in it's eyes.

"Percy, what the heck is up with you?"

My mouth hung open, I couldn't help it. She didn't see it? I saw the gleam of claws on the monster's hands. I had to do something, right? I groped for my sword, but then I realized that I didn't have on pockets. My face paled.

The monster readied it's claw, and struck.

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Yes! There was a cliffhanger.

I kept Percabeth to a bare minimum but tell me if you want some; I need something to help me make long chapters!

Please review, or I'll ACCIDENTLY foget t spl chek, make Percy jump of a cliff, and Kronos stab Chiron and Annaabeth I won't use periods not!

Just hit that purple button. Imagine there's a smiley face on it. It will make me happy!

-nobody special


	4. I Get Slapped Twice Part 1

Please forgive me if my Percabeth is cheesy or stupid, but I'll give it a shot. Probably none in this chapter, (or the next, for that matter) just so you know.

You know, when I was seeing if I got any more reviews, and I did, (THANK YOU!) I decided to look at a story I haven't read updates of for a while (Silver Pyramid, good story). I finished the most recent chapter, scrolled up, and then my jaw dropped when I saw that the author had received over 200 reviews. It was sort of depressing. Does my story suck that bad? It probably does but I still hope not.

On that happy note, on with the story! Just so you know, this chapter is sort of… bloody, but again I can't skip this chapter. Just a warning because I'm keeping the rating K+.

(By the way, if you DO hate my story, go read Percy Jackson and the Hero's Sword, if not, read it anyways.)

Chapter 4: I Get Slapped… Twice

Four things happened in that small frame of time. 1) The weird Golem monster pierced Rachael's cheeks and blood started to ooze out. 2) Rachael didn't seem to notice it at all. 3) I aimed a punch at the monster but it went right through him… and onto Rachael's face. 4) The monster evaporated at impact, but not in the usual shower of dust. It literally melted into the sky then dropped like a barbell, straight to the Underworld.

Rachael looked awestruck at me for a moment, then her eyes flashed and her hand came up to slap me, HARD, across my face. I winced. Then she turned and ran away leaving small drops of blood on the sidewalk. Gross. But then I realized something: she was going to die if she didn't get help soon. But if she doesn't notice the blood and she can see through the Mist…

Was it just me? Were the monsters playing tricks on me? I ended up deciding to stop thinking and start doing: Rachael was going to bleed to death. What could I do? I didn't know but I sprinted after her and the trail of blood. She had a good head start, but I had adrenaline flowing in my viens. The blotches were getting bigger.

After 2 minutes of tireless running, I caught up to her again. "M-monster, (gasp) bleeding, (gasp) you! (GASP)" All I got in return was another slap. Ouch.

Regaining my breath, I lunged at her and grabbed one of her arms despite her struggling. "Don't-you-feel-anything!? There-was-a-monster-that-gored-your-face-and-your-bleeding-bad-don't-you-understand-you're-gonna-die-if-you-don't-get-serious-help!?" I said at full speed. She looked at me like I was crazy, and struggled some more.

"What the Styx are you talking about?" I could recognize that voice anywhere. My heart stopped for a moment. I turned and saw Annabeth, not in an IM this time, smirking. "She's not bleeding, you are." I realized she was right. (That was some slap) "Got in a wittle fight with your fwiend? Mmm?"

She didn't see the blood either? But she was a demigod! What would make me see the blood and not her!?

Now it was my turn to look like they were crazy. Fortuanately, (and unfortunately) Rachael started to pale because of loss of blood. Her cheek was now stained red.

Annabeth seemed to pale and blush at the same time (how could she manage that?) then addressed me (of course she still almost completely ignored Rachael, who was looking puzzled but stayed where she was) "For now, I'll trust you. But why on _earth_ can you see it and not me?" (she, of course, 'forgot' Rachael again)

"You think I know? You're the wise one." She blushed, then muttered a half-hearted "Shut up". Oops. I blushed, too. I meant to be sarcastic. But not like I'm saying she's not smart, I mean she is.… Oh, never mind.

So, with Annabeth's reluctant help and Rachael's struggling, we bandaged her up pretty well. She still swore she didn't feel a thing.

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WOW. That was soooooooooooo stupid. Another chapter on the list for ones to re-do. There will be a continuation of this; I'm just bored and don't want to bother finishing this right now. I know: you think I'm a lazy writer. You're probably right, but I'm aiming for the next chap to be about as long as this, so really this will be a pretty long chapter once I get around to it. By the way, I'm dieing to have them get to camp, but there's a lot to cover before I do that (moan). Hang on!

--nobody special at all


	5. Part2Rachael Plays with Grenades

I'm sad. Almost 200 people read my story August 1-3 :), but only 3 reviewed :(. You're ignoring my pleas! Review! Review!

Thank you, though, to the ones who gave me encouraging reviews-I just wish I got some more.

Anyways, the last chapter was really dumb so to make up for it I'm doing not only the second part, but another chapter also! A tiny bit of Percabeth for those nuts out there! R&R!

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So, Annabeth was turned away from me, probably thinking why on earth I was with that scum, _Rachael_, and Rachael herself was turned away from both of us, but she didn't run away. That was and improvement. She seemed to be in her own world right now, so I decided to strike up a slightly hushed conversation with Annabeth. We were now in an abandoned park so I knew no one could hear us.

"What brought you to New York, Wise Girl?"

She glanced at me with an unreadable face then turned away again. "Oh, well after you sent me an IM I decided you might need me to stay out of trouble until we get back to camp."

I grinned. "It isn't like I go looking for it, you know."

Even behind her blond hair that was hanging elegantly down as she fiddled with her shoelaces, I swear I caught a smile. I unconsciously grinned wider.

She suddenly threw her hair back, accidentally getting some on my face. She looked at me. "Oops!" She giggled, and I scowled. She turned to look at Rachael and the smile evaporated.

"What do you have against her? You treat her like… like…" That question seemed to catch her by surprise. "What?"

"You know what. You hardly talked at all when Rachael came with us back into the Labyrinth."

"I… I-" Her voice cracked and she turned away from me again, when suddenly Rachael tackled both of us singing:

"Perc-abeth (A/N: yes, the origin of the word!) sittin' in a twee. C-I-S… wait…" she sang with a cracking voice unlike her own. She got up, and her eyes seemed to do cartwheels. "Or is it Z?" she wondered aloud. She strutted away.

Annabeth and I exchanged a glance, and we somehow knew we were thinking the same thing: those claws had poison of some wacko madness.

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, TWINKLE STAR!!"

She sounded like a toddler. Now this was one thing you don't learn at Camp— how to cure madness… "What can we do?" I questioned. Before she could answer, a nearby explosion rattled us.

"Styx…" I cursed.

"BOOM!" Rachael shouted gleefully.

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Love it? Hate it? I hate it! Review later! Next chapter is here!

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Chapter 5: Rachael Plays With Grenades

(A/N I know there's a similar chapter name on a story I've read but forget which—anyways, forgive me!)

Annabeth and I turned to find Rachael with a stick grenade in her hand. I wondered how she got it. Annabeth, however, screamed. I turned again and saw with a jolt where Rachael had thrown a grenade.

A huge, flaming hole had been blasted out of the 3rd story of a mall across the street. (Whoa, a park next to a mall?)

I saw a lady lose her balance and start to fall 3 stories to a sure death. I looked on in horror as a blood-curdling scream emitted from her lips. Annabeth looked away as she made contact with the ground. I grimaced. Luckily, it must have been a bad store or everyone ran off, because no one else came to that horrible fate. I shivered. The fire was growing.

Luckily, Annabeth kept her wits about her. "Water, Percy, water!" I shook myself. She was right; I had better douse the flames before it got worse. But with what water? I eyed a fountain at the entrance. It was big, too.

I closed my eyes as a familiar tug in the gut sent water literally jumping out of the fountain. When my eyes opened, two police cars rattled down the street. "I think it's time to go!" I shouted. Annabeth unceremoniously grabbed Rachael's arm and I grabbed Annabeth's hand. I pulled them further down the sidewalk, where we grabbed a cab. We jumped in. After I gave the driver the address to my apartment, we sped off.

Halfway there, I noticed Annabeth was a bright shade of pink. "What?" I demanded.

"We're in the cab now, Percy." She blushed even more. I realized I was still holding her hand. I jerked my hand away and turned a deeper red than the blood that had crusted on Rachael's bandages. I awkwardly scratched my hair.

The rest of the cab ride was silent, except for Rachael kicking the seat in front of her, much to the driver's annoyance.

When the driver asked for his pay, I shrugged at Annabeth to let her know that I didn't have any money with me, so she paid him. We set off to my apartment.

My mom seemed quite happy to see Annabeth for whatever reason, but frowned at Rachael, who was trying with no avail to do a cartwheel. She just seemed hit a wall every time she tried. I hurriedly explained what happened to her in a nutshell, deciding not to tell her about the grenades.

My mom nodded, but still looked confused as she ushered us in. After giving Annabeth a quick tour, we sat down on my bed and just talked. It felt good to see my best friend again, especially after the rocky good-bye…

"What have you been doing, Seaweed Brain?"

"I could ask the same question."

"Oh, nothing much." I guess I know Annabeth pretty well because even though she sounded convincing, I knew that she was concealing something.

I looked her right in the eye. "We both know that that isn't true."

She sighed a resigned sigh, and began again. "It's my parents, again. You saw them arguing; try listening to it every day. They apparently want what's best for me, but I can see right through them. It's the same as it used to be. I haven't seen many monsters, but that's beside the point." To my surprise, I saw a tear glisten in her grayer than usual eyes. I did the only thing that seemed right; I put an arm around her. I felt sorry for her: you can imagine how complicated family is to a demigod.

"Hey… it's okay."

She looked at me with a faint smile. "I know it is, Percy. I know it is." I couldn't help but smile back. We soon found ourselves in an embrace. "I missed you, Seaweed Brain." She whispered.

"I missed you too, Wise Girl." I whispered back.

We'd have time to talk later.

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Finnally, done! I wanted this even longer, but it just felt like a good way to end.

Anyways…

Will Rachael ever heal?

Why does only Percy see the monster and blood? Rachael can see through the Mist too!

Will they all even survive 'till Summer!?

Keep on reading (and reviewing) Percy Jackson and the Deadly Secret!

--the big NOBODY


	6. Discontinued

I agree with tundry the son of hades; that did suck. The whole story just sucked. I have decided to discontinue my story, mostly to the lack of reviews. I've seen stories I hate get like 30 reviews for the only 2 chapters.

Then again, what did I suspect? It was my first fanfic. I didn't expect it to be a big hit…

Anyways, if you DID like my story, send me a review, then vote on the poll on my profile. If you hated it, vote also.

So, sorry if you actually liked my story, because it is down the tube.

--the big NOBODY


	7. My Relative Plays a Prank

OK, I _guess _I'll give it another shot, but I'll be updating less frequently; I'm thinking of starting another story in the same category and I'm also going to make longer chapters for this one.

Anyhoo! Percy just might make it to Camp this time around. Also, I'm going to make my own character that will be introduced next chapter: I'm looking for a name! Send your idea for the name of him and what Greek god he will be the son of.

Don't expect much of this chapter, but I still demand 3 reviews/votes on my poll before I fully decide to continue the story. There still may not be a next chapter.

Disclaimer: (I've been lax with this) I do not own anything about this dumb thing. Grrrrrrrr...

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Chapter 6: My Relative Plays a Prank

I lay awake on my bed; letting my mind wander to places I have no hope of finding; my blankets were untouched, and I was still in the same dirty shirt I had worn that day. I stared directly at the ceiling, thinking of nothing specific at all. Camp, my dad, monsters, Kronos, Rachael, Grover, Annabeth… Annabeth. Why was she such a mystery sometimes? Why did it seem that I knew her so well, yet it still seemed that she was hiding something? Why did she even care about that creep Luke? And most of all, why did she seem to have such a great dislike for Rachael? Then there is what happened at Mt. Saint Helens…

I was restless. I sat up onto the very edge of my bed and looked out the window. Same old New York. I glanced at the clock. It was midnight.

I could distantly hear Rachael snoring obnoxiously. I smiled, remembering Annabeth's reaction to sleeping with Rachael. She was really in for a rough night.

I gently lifted up the window. The moon lace's glowing aura faintly contrasted to the dark sky. I usually didn't look at it much; it would always remind me of Calypso, Ogygia, and the life that I left behind. "What if," I found myself whisper aloud, "what if." I patted the dirt, and then shut the window again. The cold seemed to slink back into the room even though it was colder outside. I turned away from my only connection to the place where I forgot about my worries, just for once. I sat back down.

The door opened with a whispering creak. Some one walked quietly in. It was Annabeth.

"And what are you doing awake, Wise Girl? Rachael keep you up?" I teased softly.

"I could ask the same," she said, ignoring the Rachael comment.

I turned to look out the window again and sighed. "There's just so much to think about. L-Kronos, the new monsters, the prophecy…" My voice trailed off. The prophecy was another thing I tried to avoid thinking about. "It almost seems hopeless. I—I don't think I can do it."

Annabeth had been pretty tense when she came in, but I could feel her soften. She put her hand on my arm, which sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "We'll sort it out. For Zeus' sake, you're the child of Poseidon, Seaweed Brain! Anyways, you'll always have me behind you." She smiled encouragingly at me. I glanced at her, managed a weak smile, and then turned away again. She got up.

"Well, goodnight, Seaweed Brain. Survive until morning for me, okay?" she joked, though she looked somewhat reluctant. She was about to open the door when I called "Wait." She turned, surprised.

I bit my lip. "I think I'll take my chances with Rachael's snoring. You can sleep in my bed. I'm probably not going to sleep, anyway."

She smiled gratefully.

I was slightly groggy as I pulled off my sweats. Rachael and Annabeth were in the kitchen eating, while I was still changing. I was reaching for my pants when suddenly, a mist appeared in front of me, revealing Annabeth. Our eyes widened and I quickly pulled my pants over my middle part. "WHAT THE—" Annabeth didn't finish because I had already waved the IM away.

She Iris-Messaged me while I was in nothing but boxers! What the heck! I pulled on everything in less than a second, no joke. I ran towards the kitchen but ran into something hard. That 'something' turned out to be my least favorite relative. I clenched my teeth. "YOU!"

There was Ares, smugly looking down at me in a Harley-Davidson leather jacket. What a great way to start a day! (**A/N Hey, that rhymes!) **He chuckled. "Long time no see, eh, cousin? By the way, it wasn't my idea." I'd almost forgot that. He is my cousin, all right—my cousin who is thousands of years older than me and a complete jerk. I tried to shove past him. I didn't achieve much.

"Percy, we're having blue pancakes (long story) and we're waiting for you. Percy?" My mom's voice echoed down the hallway.

"Get out of my way, loser."

He surprised me by sidestepping. "Sure thing, but are you really sure?" I looked at him like he was crazy and walked briskly past him. I turned another corner and guess who I ran into this time.

It was Clarisse. Looks like the war god was having a family reunion at my house. "There you are, Prissy. Nice undies." Great. I get two unwelcome guests in the same morning.

"Shut up." I mumbled threateningly.

"Anyways, I've been watching you and your girlfriend—"

_Girlfriend!?_ "Shut up!" Oh, man. I really am touchy.

"It is so _cute_ how you actually let her sleep in your bed!" She was going to far.

"I said, SHUT—UP!" I couldn't help it— I hit her smack in the nose, actually knocking her to the ground. I don't know my own strength! I straightened up. "I think it is time for you and your dad to leave my apartment." I walked coolly into the kitchen, where everyone was staring at me. "What?" No one responded. Rachael broke out singing the "Eensy-Weensy, Spider", hand motions and all.

When I had sat down and served myself a pancake, Annabeth whispered, "Nice punch," to me. I just grinned.

* * *

That chapter was really stupid. And boring. And slow. Probably my worst chapter yet.

Love it or hate it, review, but if you hate it please tell why. I feel like I'm reading my composition in front of hundreds in an auditorium, and one person boos, and only a few small cheers. That leaves about 290 people staring stony-faced at me without reaction. I'd rather everyone boo.

I still might discontinue this. Vote on my poll please!

By the way, I made a HUGE mistake in the beginning. I recently re-read BotL and at the end Nico said he found a way to defeat Luke. I completely ignored that. AGH! My story is made totally unrealistically!

--the big NOBODY (yeah, I know, weird name. I'm weird, too, so it fits)


	8. Another AN

Hello everyone, I'm just letting those of you that liked this story and are sad that it was discontinued know that I made sort of a re-do of this story with a similar plot line that is entitled Bk 5: Percy Jackson and the Army of Dead. _This_ is still discontinued and I won't change my mind, but if you liked it, read the Army of Dead. It isn't exactly the same but it will take out a a few wrinkles and add several twists to it.

Just hoping to boost the number of people who read it. It only has one chapter so far but chapter 2 is under way and much better.

—Aidan


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